


Reparations

by MiChiAzalie



Series: A Starry Sky Of Small Desires [1]
Category: Fate/EXTRA
Genre: F/M, Gil being a snob
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26363356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiChiAzalie/pseuds/MiChiAzalie
Summary: At some point at the very beginning of their adventures through cyberspace, Gilgamesh unofficially started a series of quote unquote lessons that Hakuno liked to call ‘Pleasure 101’. Of course, it was only to be expected that said lessons would start by casting her clothes into the deepest pit of hell because somehow inanimate objects had the capability of offending him as well.In which Gilgamesh decides to settle his affray against the Moon Cell’s primordial offense against him: Hakuno’s uniform.
Relationships: Gilgamesh | Archer/Kishinami Hakuno
Series: A Starry Sky Of Small Desires [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1915801
Kudos: 39





	Reparations

At some point at the very beginning of their adventures through cyberspace, Gilgamesh unofficially started something that Hakuno liked to call ‘Pleasure 101’, which in reality served both the purpose of supposedly showing her the joys of living, as he himself proudly declared, as well as being the perfect pretext for him to be an absolute showoff about it -which was fine, it was nothing that she hadn’t been expecting; she already knew that agreeing to go with Gilgamesh was an adventure that would be filled with as many migraine episodes as joys.

However, she didn’t expect his so-called lessons to literally start less than 72 hours later after she was liberated from the Moon Cell’s hold -a new personal record for him, she had to admit. Sure, she should have seen it coming; this wouldn’t be the first time Gilgamesh has done something so outlandish it gave her vertigo; after all, few things could surpass his stunt back on the Near Side, when she found him back inside her room, sitting _naked_ and with 90% of his treasury gone no more than 10 minutes after he literally told her to “ _go die miserably in the sixth round or whatever, I don’t care, your Servant will doubtless be some sorry good-for-nothing anyhow_ ”.

Said quote unquote lesson started almost by accident.

Earlier during her second morning outside the prefabricated world of the Moon Cell, she found out he had demanded the customer service of the hotel they were staying at for the time being to bring them a myriad of things to eat upon her awakening. When she had dared to ask why he did that when there was a perfectly functioning kitchen for their -her- use, he had snorted, given her a derisive stare from the top of his nose and simply stated that he would not permit her to enslave herself in the kitchen like some worthless wench and that it was inconvenient for a Master of his to lower herself so, which was equally insulting as it was probably the kindest gesture she would see coming from him at least for today. The large mug of coffee that stood beside her plate certainly helped to make the words seem _almost_ kind and the world a little bit brighter, too.

She gratefully took the mug and gave a careful sip before she nearly spitted the contents out with a grimace, finding the bitterness too overwhelming. “This is almost _gasoline_ ,” she spluttered.

He gave out an amused chuckle at her reaction, hellfire eyes mocking her as he gave her a stare from the top of his goblet.

“Coffee is supposed to be enjoyed as is, Hakuno. Adding sugar defeats the purpose. Kills the taste.”

She supposed that made sense in some strange way, but still.

She looked at him sullenly.

“…Not even a tiny, tiny bit?”

There was only a brief moment of silence as his facial expressions went from meditative to slowly accepting before a golden ripple was summoned and a sugar basin came forth from that weird pocket dimension that he had control over.

A tiny, tiny bit of sugar ended up actually being three tablespoons worth of sugar, but apparently he found it amusing and once again the room was filled with more and more of his idle monologues, Gilgamesh loving the sound of his voice way too much to ever let silence drag for too long.

At least he seemed to be in a particularly good mood. She wouldn’t question it and would instead enjoy it for as much as she could.

In any case, that shot of kerosene Gilgamesh had called coffee managed to dispel any remaining traces of sleep that still remained. That, coupled with how his mood was more or less stable that morning, she found herself at peace.

It was a shame her nice things never lasted for long.

The day progressed without any further incidents up until the point she went back to the adjacent room to change into something more wearable for outdoors. It was when she emerged dressed in her trusty brown uniform again that she felt his mood shift, pointed gaze burning holes into her as the air around them grew thick -and while it was sort of curious in a twisted kind of way that Gilgamesh could singlehandedly bring the room temperature to 10 degrees Celsius, it was something that she rather not be dealing with this early.

With a disapproving scowl, he rose from his slumped position on the couch, strode closer to where she stood, and then-

“But _this,_ what is this? Hakuno, these filthy, ugly rags have to go,” he pinched one sleeve of her uniform between his index finger and forefinger and held it up in disgust. Almost as if the mere action of touching it, even if just barely, would rot the skin of his hands.

She gave him a bemused stare at that.

“What- _why_?”

Why now, of all times? She had been wearing that ever since he pulled her out of the Moon Cell’s core. Had he just now realized the uniform still existed and was in her possession? It was the only piece of clothing she had left, other than that makeshift, provisional sleepwear Gil had given her because she refused to sleep on the nude.

“Why. You dare ask me why. While back at the Moon Cell you had no choice but to clothe yourself in this insulting disgrace you call a uniform, this offense shall end here. I shall burn this thing down for good measure, lest I find you attempting to wear it again,” his arms crossed over his chest again in an expression of impatience and immediacy she was all too familiar with.

“Burn.”

It wasn’t even a question. She didn’t even intend it to be a question.

This surprised her more than it should have. She didn’t know what to make of it, really, so she simply stood there in the middle of some gaudy living room in a planet belonging to some distant planetary system, like a fish out of water, watching her servant bully her for her choice of clothing -a choice that, mind you, wasn’t really a choice.

Oh, but he was now so very amused by it, too. The man looked almost _reinvigorated_ watching her flail as she tried to regain her ability to speak. Well, she was glad that her inability to form words had done something to improve his mood, or whatever.

It really shouldn’t be surprising that even non-breathing, inanimate objects such as a simple school uniform would also have the capability of offending the King by merely existing.

“B-Burn? But as in right now?”

“Did the meaning of my words get lost to you, Hakuno?”

“B-But these are the only clothes I have. What am I supposed to wear if not this?”

The laugh that came out of Gilgamesh was definitely grating. A small, cruel smile was upon his lips as he retorted:

“New garments suitable for your new status, what else? Of course, burning shall come later when we have procured such,” Gilgamesh replied, looking positively derisive. “Now, why are you making such an abashed face? Might it be that you believed in earnest that I would permit you parade yourself undressed for others to feast upon? Or was that a subconscious desire of some sort, perhaps?”

“Of course _not_.”

She did. A part of her did, anyway.

Still, Hakuno tried to sound as final -as well as polite- as she could. It unfortunately ended up coming out more bluntly than she intended to; it was a good thing that her capricious Servant seemed to regard it as amusing.

Ah, she already felt like she was going to have a headache.

Hakuno decided to close her eyes as her heated face scrunched up so that at the very least she would not see his face as he snickered at her expanse. Her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose in a gesture of mild exasperation.

“Fine, okay, but still, _why_? The uniform is fine, the clothes are fine, they are still usable, so why?”

If people are clothed, wasn’t that really enough? Her uniform was _fine._ It had endured the toll of deletion pretty well and it was without gashes that would make it unwearable, so why-

He waved a dismissive hand at her.

“You speak nonsense, Master. It is as I said; you hardly take enjoyment in things. Had I not mentioned this, you would still be presenting yourself to me wearing these insultingly ugly robes until the end of time. Which is most unacceptable! I have long forgiven this offense of yours before if only because that… _thing_ was compulsory. But not anymore; it shall soon be corrected.”

The way he said it left no room for objections. It felt, in fact, more like a judgement than anything else.

…Alright. New clothes, huh?

Well, it was something new, she guessed? It wouldn’t hurt to give it a try, although it wasn’t like she had a choice for that matter anyway. Still, she had to make the best of this situation.

Who knows, it might actually be nice to finally wear something other than brown or navy-blue for once.

“Alright… Alright. Fine, you got me,” her arms slumped down at her sides in an expression that looked slightly defeated, the color of her face having almost returned to its usual pallid monochrome, only the barest of pinks still visible on her cheeks. “Come to think of it, I’d never been allowed to wear anything else other than the uniform, so it could be nice for a change,” the more she spoke out loud, the more she had the impression that her words were more meant to convince herself rather than being directed to her Servant.

Nonetheless, Gilgamesh made a satisfied sound at that and already started moving, the cloud of impending doom that had been his previous mood lifting if only slightly as he looked at her with a snooty stare that she recognized as the one he made when he wanted to prove someone wrong. 

“As befitting of a Master of mine, it is only natural that you would see things my way. It is decided; we shall procure robes acceptable for you. This, I reckon, should be a suitable start on your lessons on pleasure.”

_Of course it was._

“Just for the record -let me get this straight. You will start showing me _pleasure_ and _the joys of living for my sake_ by buying me clothes and then setting my uniform on fire,” she deadpanned.

She tried to remind herself _why_ she shouldn’t be feeling shocked by none of Gilgamesh’s demands or so-called whims, that it shouldn’t be ground-shacking at all that the very first lesson on what he had called _the joy of living_ had to start with casting her school uniform into the deepest pits of hell.

Maybe there was some grand moral that she failed to see in all of this.

“Precisely. What’s more, I intend to take this monstrosity you’re currently dressed in as partial payment for the disrespect the Moon Cell dared to show upon me. Resigning myself to this penury is hardly satisfying, but I shall make do for the time being.”

Or maybe not.

 _Of course_ all of this had something to do with Gilgamesh’s dignity in some way or another.

Hakuno shook her head.

“Now, come along, Master; I’ve had enough of watching you stand there and worry over things that are of no consequence as you remain dressed in that wonder of ugliness. You have dues to pay to your King and they shall be paid now.”

That was all she heard before she was being dragged to who-knows where.

* * *

The rest of the day was shopping madness. Really, the rest of the entire day.

She’d never minded how dreadfully expensive Gil's tastes were, never much cared about his Golden Rule and how much of a snob he was under that cold, asshole exterior that he showcased as he paraded around the School’s halls in that gaudy -and definitely very, very heavy- golden armor, but now that he had brought her to that planet’s equivalent of New York’s 5th avenue in terms of shopping, the fact of just how flashy his tastes and needs were hit her hard in the face. It felt like being punched by a shark.

As of right now, she was trailing behind Gilgamesh as he picked shirt after shirt, dress after dress, and so on so forth from the racks of some store the name of which was in some kind of unintelligible language that she couldn’t hope to ever come close to understand. A heap of many different clothing articles that he had already selected lay over her arms, the weight of the pile making them tremble slightly.

He simply kept piling clothes upon clothes that he deigned were good enough until she could barely see where she was stepping into.

“Hm, this might be suitable as well. Rather homely, but it will make do," he said distractedly as he seemed to inspect up close something that she couldn’t see due to the pile of clothes already obscuring her vision, but that she imagined would probably be flashy or make her look like she’d come out from a human trafficking ring.

He piled it on top of her pile.

“Gil, _Gil_ ,” she grunted, following him through the store. “I don't need these many clothes! Who needs twenty shirts, fifteen skirts, another fifteen dresses and seven different pairs of pants anyway?”

Gilgamesh clicked his tongue, stopping in his tracks. His foot tapped against the floor in a gesture of impatience.

“Who spoke of needing? Hakuno, you are speaking nonsense again. It’s not a matter of whether you think you need it or not; this is for the pleasure of it. I intend to show you this as well -an opportunity that not many are bestowed with, so you may praise me later as you see fit.”

“Gil-”

Of course, he ignored her and added another article to the ever-growing pile in her arms.

She couldn’t tell how silly it must have been for the rest of the locals who tried to make their shopping in relative peace watch a five feet human girl with a surmountable pile of garments in her arms loitering behind some six feet guy dressed in zebra printed clothes, but she could only imagine it was as ridiculous as she imagined it was in her mind.

“Gil!” she called out more insistently.

She wasn’t sure, either, of which one she preferred best now, if death by suffocation, or death by deletion. Who could have thought that it was actually physically possible to drown in a pile of clothes?

Even more so, who would have thought she would have been saved from near deletion by an asshole in gold only to end up playing dress-up for him because for some reason unfathomable to her a brown uniform had offended him so much that he thought it should be erased from the universe right about fucking now?

It was stupid, but Hakuno already had her good share of stupid things happening to her, so this was really just another thing to add to her already accumulating list of reasons she should have stayed in bed and never wake up.

* * *

Being trapped inside a fitting room, struggling a little bit to breath as she sorted through the fabrics upon fabrics that Gilgamesh had deemed suitable enough for her to wear, was decidedly a strange way to make her feel appreciative of the pleasures of shopping rushes.

He had made it imperative that she was to leave the store with something on right about now because next thing he would do, she could assume already, would be disposing of her old clothes. Had it not been for that simple detail, she had little doubts Gilgamesh would have simply taken everything without much of a second thought.

Letting her pick up the clothes she would be leaving with instead of simply getting her inside some kind of zebra-printed dress to match his, though, was a simple level of considerate Hakuno didn’t think the King capable of. Not that she couldn’t already see him in her mind’s eye trying to get her into something gaudier before her state of dress could somehow _reflect poorly on him_ again or some bullshit reason like that, regardless of her pick now.

Nonetheless, the choices were… well.

_How much tackier could you get?_

For so much that Gilgamesh bullied her for her lack of taste in clothes, his own taste could only be described as ‘disgustingly rich’ and pretentious, and nothing else. Could bad taste be considered a taste on its own right?

Picking clothes when most of the options were too ornate to even consider wearing outside a dinner date or outside a slave auction was harder than she thought it would be, but as she rummaged through the sea of clothes all around her, she thought she might have found something that could be spared from Gilgamesh’s outlandish taste for dress.

Speaking of the devil…

Hakuno heard a hard knock against the fitting room’s door once, then twice.

“Mongrel, how much longer shall you keep your King waiting? I tire of this, show yourself now before I drag you out of there myself.”

Wasn’t he a bundle of joy?

She groaned quietly, buttoning her pants.

“Geez, just give me a moment…!”

She knew that telling Gilgamesh to _wait_ was useless and would be as effective as trying to force a fish climb a tree, but if it could at least give her some three or five extra seconds before he came in barging then it was worth it.

After a few more seconds of rustling of fabrics and soft cursing, Hakuno came out in a state of dress that she thought could still be somewhat dignified before no damage was done to the door.

Sure enough, Gilgamesh stood arms-crossed before her, waiting with a frown in his face that told her he hadn’t been kidding when he said he would have dragged her out himself.

She remained still, waiting for some kind of remark to come out of him only to find that surprisingly enough no sounds were coming out. She didn’t even get one of his mocking snorts; his gaze was unmoving as he looked at her, and as someone’s NPC recreation who had consequently gotten used to being invisible to everyone else, that kind of attention she was receiving from him was really hard to take.

As the staring continued, she started to shift around in her new clothing self-consciously, and when she still didn’t get a snotty remark from him, she shifted around even more.

She must have looked silly but… this _had_ to be better than her Moon Cell uniform, right? He no longer had a reason to bitch at her about it; instead of her former brown uniform she had picked up a white, long-sleeved turtleneck, a pair of black pants and black boots to match. Sure, out of everything Gilgamesh had thrown her way, these were the only garments that were _mostly_ devoid of any extravagant designs or patterns that would make them truly stand out, and they were also the easiest to wear on a normal basis. The white turtleneck was already as basic as it could be, but the pristine white of it made the warm undertone of her brown hair actually stand out as opposed to simply blend into her clothes as it did when she wore her brown uniform, and the black pants contrasted pleasingly against the white of the shirt, so she guessed that by his standards this could actually be deemed as acceptable?

Well, if it indeed was acceptable, which she hoped it was because she didn’t want to be further victimized by her choice in clothes, Hakuno couldn’t tell right away because he was simply gazing at her unblinkingly with a frown as he seemed to be both assessing her new state of dress and considering something other of his own. …Was it really that bad? Perhaps, Hakuno thought, he was thinking about one of his epic rejections or something similar.

You know what? Whatever; Hakuno had tried to make the best of it all. This guessing game was pointless.

Finally, _finally_ , words came out from her Servant’s lips as he seemed to snap out from whatever internal musings he had been having with himself. The response she got was hardly astounding.

He raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

“That is all? I expected you to pick something bland, but this… this is poor even for you, Hakuno.”

Wha-

_What._

Why did he sound so _disappointed_?

She gave him a baffled look, eyes wide in an expression that was in-between disbelief and outright confusion from which she quickly recovered because spending so much of her time with Gilgamesh has taught her how to recover morale surprisingly fast.

“What- what’s wrong with these clothes in particular? Gil, those- _those_ other clothes aren't even acceptable clothes for fighting," Hakuno rebutted.

"Mongrel, you should feel grateful that I would lower myself to pick your own garments and dress you into something that I can at least bear to gaze upon. Because I selected them, they are acceptable clothes for you, I can tell. Besides, you are not supposed to do any fighting,” he sniffed.

 _Grateful_.

Despite the embarrassing conversation, she fought against the impulse to blush and instead replied, "We’re going on to explore planets, Gil, most probably to get into fights, not to a date."

Oh, now there came the blush. Hakuno kept trying to fight it off but in the end, with how absurd this all was, she felt it burning her face regardless, and it only served to fuel Gilgamesh further.

"Ah, but wouldn’t you like that, Hakuno?" he asked with a sly glint in his crimson eyes, to which she groaned. Fortunately, he didn’t elaborate on that, for which the brunette was glad.

“ _Whatever._ Is it better than the uniform at least?” she asked in defeat, trying to keep whatever dignity she still retained.

At that, he merely made an unconcerned sound, as if the answer to that was already obvious and he shouldn’t even bother to voice it.

“It is a vast improvement compared to the garbs you paraded yourself around with, that much you should be aware of. It still lacks in taste, but at least it is bearable to gaze upon. For the time being, I shall allow this and be content for now. Evidently, we shall be taking the rest as well so that you may be instructed in wearing proper clothes suitable for your new place at my side, lest you keep embarrasing me with your lack of proper taste,” he told her as he nodded at his own judgement. His words seemed to be more meant for himself than for her, really.

Hakuno sent him another dead stare, shoulders slumping downwards in an expression that could only be regarded as discouraged.

_This is going to become a new constant in my life, isn't it...?_

"Of course, my mongrel. Your looks may be average, but you are a very interesting woman; indeed, you never cease to make me laugh!” Gilgamesh replied in a loud bark of laughter, Hakuno barely registering that she had said that aloud when she hadn’t intended for it to happen.

 _Yeah, of course I am_ , Hakuno tiredly thought.

However, just by getting him to at the very, _very_ least sort of praise her in the end, she guessed she did come out victorious?

In a way…?

* * *

Just as she expected, he did end up taking the rest of the pile of clothes he picked, the brunette already imagining another endless tirade about how she still had to further be clothed and adorned in things that were suitable of something of his.

Also true to his word, the King of Heroes tossed her brown uniform inside his gates until he found a suitable place, away from the busy center of the city, where he could start a literal fire to cast them into.

She thought the fire part was a metaphor of some sort. A part of her had wanted for it to be.

It appears it wasn’t

And once more, she should have known better.

She still didn't get what the moral of this so-called lesson was supposed to be, but at the end of the day she would have a closet full of expensive clothes, so that was… something, she guessed.

Hakuno, deadpan look on her face, watched the flames consume what had been once the only piece of clothing she’d been allowed to wear for who knows how long. On the other hand, Gilgamesh was wearing a _refreshed_ , pleased look of his own as he stared down at the bonfire, arms crossed against his chest in a proud stance. The smirk on his face was all teeth.

He really, _really_ hated that uniform, didn’t he?

The only time Hakuno remembered Gilgamesh genuinely excited and _happy_ over something, _anything,_ was when he spent an hour away explaining with all sorts of details the joys and wonders of his aquatic park project. She hadn’t seen his eyes light up as much as they did back then and she honestly doubted that she would ever see them like that again. However, as she watched him burn her school uniform with an eerie _glee_ shining in his eyes, she thought that this moment right now was coming dangerously close to surpass that memory she had of him.

She supposed it was… touching… in some strange, twisted, warped way.

She didn’t know what kind of terrible things she did in her past life that brought her to summon Gilgamesh instead of someone slightly less volatile, but if she was sure of something, it was that all of this was some kind of karmic retribution for something she did and that she couldn’t remember.

Or a test. Perhaps all of this was just a test. After all, what else could being victimized by a guy in a zebra suit be, if not a test of some sort? 

Either way, she was stuck with him until the end of eternity. They might as well make it worthwhile.


End file.
